The milestone makes Australia the first country to be awarded certification for the Bell 505 following the initial type certificate being issued in Canada.

Hawker Pacific is the proud sales representative of Bell Helicopter in the Pacific and Middle East. With Hawker Pacific’s experience and the professional attention from Australia’s regulatory body, CASA, the Bell 505 achieved the first-ever foreign certification in Australia.

The Bell 505 Jet Ranger X is already in high demand with more than 400 letters of intent worldwide since the initial launch in 2014.

Hawker Pacific will deliver five new Bell 505 Jet Ranger X aircraft in Australia and three in New Zealand over the coming 12 months. The company will deliver Australia’s first Bell 505 Jet Ranger X to Nautilus Aviation in mid-2017.

Tony Jones, Hawker Pacific, has congratulated Bell Helicopter on the certification of the 505 Jet Ranger X and says Hawker Pacific looks forward to offering the new helicopter to customers in the region.

“Hawker Pacific congratulates Bell Helicopter on the certification of this next generation helicopter,” said Jones. “We are thrilled to be introducing the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X to the Australian market this year. We are seeing very strong interest from the Australasian market and look forward to bringing this state-of-the-art, next generation helicopter to customers in the region very soon.”

The Bell 505 is proving popular not just with private owners, but is exceeding expectations with the commercial operators that have long awaited a new viable and advanced short light single helicopter for pilot training, charter and scenic flights and air work.

The 505 is powered by the reliable Safran (Turbomeca) Arrius 2R Engine, featuring dual channel full authority digital engine control (with backup), automatic start up, and an optimized maintenance program with 3,000-hour time between overhaul.

Hawker Pacific’s staff is currently completing training for the new Bell 505 helicopter and the company has limited availability for early deliveries in Australia.